The present invention is directed to an emergency lighting system, and in particular to an emergency lighting system adapted to selectively provide light signals to guide occupants from an interior location.
Emergency lights within interior locations are known that are caused to activate in the event of an emergency. Various forms of such emergency lights are mounted to ceilings or to walls in close proximity to ceilings. However, such emergency lights may suffer from the disadvantage of being blocked by rising smoke during a fire. In addition, some emergency lights merely provide illumination of an exit location or general illumination of an area, which may not help occupants within the building or structure that are not in view of the exit location, or are unfamiliar with the location of the exits. Other known forms of emergency lights utilize floor mounted lights that are installed during construction of the structure. While such emergency lights are able to provide light that is less likely to be obscured by smoke, these systems are typically costly, difficult to install, and cannot be readily utilized or retrofitted into existing buildings.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an emergency lighting system in which the illumination provided is less susceptible to being blocked by rising smoke, is readily adaptable to being installed within a variety of interior locations, and which benefits occupants more than merely illuminating certain locations.